ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Despite a late rally that saw the No. 16 Tritons pull within one point with one minute left, the Eckerd women's basketball team dropped a close contest Sunday afternoon to Lewis (Ill.) University at the McArthur Center, 86-82.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Lewis 86, Eckerd 82
Records: Eckerd 9-2, Lewis 8-4
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eckerd began the game with hot outside shooting, utilizing an 11-4 run towards the beginning of the first quarter to build an eight-point lead highlighted by two Dallas Dickerson 3-pointers. Yarden Danan continued Eckerd's hot hand sinking back-to-back 3's with under three minutes to go as the Tritons held a six-point lead. The Flyers, however, scored six unanswered points to end the period with a tie game at 24-24.
- The score remained close for the first five minutes of the second quarter as the teams traded baskets leading to a 34-34 tie with 5:18 left in the half. That's when Lewis began a key stretch that helped determine the outcome of the game. The Flyers made eight straight shots while only allowing the Tritons a pair of free throws, going on a 17-2 run before taking a 51-39 lead into halftime.
- The Tritons pulled within six early in the third quarter after a 10-4 run, capped by eight points from Ada Yalcin including two 3-pointers. The Flyers answered with a 10-1 run to give them their largest lead at 15 points. Eckerd managed to pull back within nine entering the final quarter, trailing 68-59.
- Eckerd looked to be in prime position for a comeback as the Tritons used a 15-4 run in a four-minute span to pull within one point (80-79) on a Dickerson 3-pointer with 1:01 left. During the run, Kacie Juday and Zoe Richards combined for 10 of the 15 points while the defense came up with several key stops. Unfortunately, the comeback fell short as the Tritons committed two costly turnovers in the final minute and the Flyers went on to win, 86-82.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Eckerd had five players with double-digit points: Yalcin (19), Juday (16), Danan (16), Richards (14), and Dickerson (12). Danan scored a season-high with her 16 points, while Yalcin's 19 points tied her career high set last season.
- Eckerd shot 43.8 percent in the game and 51.8 percent in the first half, while Lewis shot at 61.1 percent for the game and a blistering 71 percent in the first half.
- The loss ended Eckerd's seven-game winning streak.
- The 86 points allowed by Eckerd was the most since giving up 87 to Florida Southern on February 13, 2008.
QUOTABLE
"Our energy was good today and we competed well. We brought plenty of offense to the contest but we had a hard time getting stops and didn't play both ends of the floor the way we needed to. I also give a lot of credit to Lewis. I thought they played great." - EC head coach
Paul Honsinger.
UP NEXT
Eckerd will have a day off before hosting Albany State (Ga.) on Tuesday at the McArthur Center for a 4:00 PM tip.
